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Credit & Copyright: Rogelio Bernal
Andreo (Deep Sky Colors)
Explanation:
Like a rainbow at night,
a beautiful moonbow shines above the western horizon in this
deserted beach scene from Molokai Island,
Hawaii,
USA, planet Earth.
Captured last June 17 in early morning hours, the lights along
the horizon are from Honolulu and cities on the island of Oahu
some 30 miles away.
So where was the Moon?
A rainbow is
produced by sunlight internally reflected in
rain drops from the direction
opposite the Sun
back toward the observer.
As the light passes from air to water and back to air again, longer
wavelengths are refracted (bent) less than shorter ones
resulting in the separation of colors.
And so the moonbow is produced as raindrops reflect moonlight
from the direction opposite the Moon.
That puts the Moon directly behind the photographer,
still low and rising over the eastern horizon,
a few days past
its full phase.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Hawaii - Moon
Publications with words: Hawaii - Moon
See also:
- APOD: 2026 August 25 Á Earths Shadow Visualized with Lunar Eclipses
- APOD: 2026 May 11 Á Moon Setting Behind Teide Volcano
- APOD: 2026 May 9 Á Messier Craters in Stereo
- APOD: 2026 April 15 Á The ISS Transits the Moon
- APOD: 2026 April 11 Á Artemis II: Flight Day 6
- The Bay of Rainbows
- Earthset from Orion